Action Figure: Michael Roberson

ACHIEVEMENTS: The hardline conservatism that highlighted Roberson’s first term in the 2011 legislative session gave way, in 2013, to apparent moderation. The new tone was epitomized by his support for a ballot initiative that could lead to higher taxes on the mining industry. That revenue is necessary to buoy our deflated education system, he says, but it’s also inoculation against the alternative: a business margins tax, which he says would create a second recession. His shift—however slight—coincided perfectly with partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., casting Roberson as a reasonable man of action in an age of political dysfunction.

THE HOT-BUTTON INTERIM: Roberson is serving on two committees covering the hottest issues du jour. One, to which he appointed himself, will study the formula for funding K-12 education and propose an alternative; a second, to which he was appointed, is the Governor’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Council. One of its jobs is to unearth—and fix—the root causes of the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital busing fiasco.

VICTORY AGENDA: “My goal is to win my re-election [in November], go back to Carson City, keep working on my priorities and obtain a Republican majority in the Senate,” Roberson says.

After a decade in trade journalism, Heidi jumped the fence to consumer magazines in 2010, when she started freelancing full-time. Locally, she’s written for City Life, Desert Companion and the Review-Journal; nationally, for the L.A. Times and Variety. She attempts to justify her totally unnecessary Ivy League education by arguing that a master’s degree in Romance Languages makes one more sensitive, but neither that nor her devotion to yoga seems to have totally undone the damage of her being raised by cowboys in Roswell, N.M. And no, she’s never seen an alien.

Get to know the Life Is Beautiful acts. Learn about Downtown's new kaleidoscopic murals. Find tips on how to navigate schedule conflicts. And see what's on the mouthwatering menu. Here is Vegas Seven's guide to tasting, seeing and hearing all the festival has to offer, from the first afternoon set to the final headliner.